Demolition in Almeria

January 17, 2008

The events that took place in Almeria last week are most unfortunate. The demolished property and its licence from the Vera Town Hall were not based upon an approved project of works (Project of Urbanization) for an approved detail plan (Plan Parcial) of an approved developable sector of a Local Plan (Normas Subsidiaras) approved by the Regional Planning Authority, the Junta de Andalucía.

This is a total contrast to Almanzora Bay’s projects, such as Desert Springs and Playa Marques. There the building licenses granted by the Town Halls are on the basis of approved Projects of Works for consented Detail Plans for developable zones of the current Local Plan approved by the Town Hall and the Junta de Andalucía. These Detail Plans, once initially approved by the Town Hall, were issued to the competent departments of National, Regional and Provincial government, including Planning, Environment, Highways, Public Works and Culture, as well as the service providers. Having received the corresponding consents, the Detail Plans were placed on official public deposit for objections from any party, including those same authorities. Finally definitive approvals were granted by the Town Halls. Subsequently, Projects of Works defining the provision of roads and services in detail, were submitted and approved.

In the case of Mr and Mrs Prior’s property it was the avoidance of these same procedures by those responsible by means of using a policy intended for agricultural dwellings to obtain the grant of a licence resulted in the building of an illegal dwelling in a protected rural area. The property therefore lacked the proper approvals and this resulted in the action taken by the government and the courts, much as they would in the UK.

Very different circumstances apply to the Almanzora Bay developments at Desert Springs, Playa Marques and Villaricos, which have every one of the all important approvals referred to above. Their legal strength and validity is undoubted; they have not and are not being challenged. Almanzora Bay developments have been subject to detailed due diligence by amongst others, the Times newspaper’s own Spanish Property Doctor and consultant, Mark Stucklin, whose views may be seen on his web site, www.spanishpropertyinsight.com and by Approved Property Abroad; http://homesabroad.telegraph.co.uk/propertysearch.php.

Even with the support of the authorities, it took 12 years, 1988 to 2000, to clear all the necessary legal hurdles before these developments started. Meanwhile, the Almanzora Bay Group endured much political pressure and criticism because of its insistence on completing the drawn out and complex legal processes, just like any responsible UK developer. Ironic it is therefore that the market for good top quality legal developments has been undermined by the attraction of buyers to cheap illegal properties and worse that truly superb and valuable projects are now being unjustly sullied by the inevitable denouement of these illegal shenanigans.